Matt Damon’s The Bourne Ultimatum, the third actioner based on novels by Robert Ludlum, took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a $70.2 million take–the biggest August opening of a film ever.
Ultimatum also outperformed its predecessors The Bourne Identity, which opened with $27 million in 2002, and The Bourne Supremacy, which premiered with $52 million in 2004.
“People just love Matt Damon and (director) Paul Greengrass is a superstar,” Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, told The Associated Press Sunday. “Matt Damon is the new James Bond.”
According to Universal, more than 90 percent of Bourne Ultimatum’s opening weekend audience had seen the two previous Bourne films.
Disney’s live-action movie Underdog premiered at No. 3 with $12 million, while Paramount’s Hot Rod opened in ninth place with $5 million. Lionsgate’s Bratz, a live-action comedy based on the popular line of dolls, rounded out the Top 10 with $4.3 million.
The Top 12 movies took in $166 million, up 36 percent from last year’s total of $122 million, but down 3.7 percent from last weekend’s total of $172.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Sony’s Talladega Nights, which opened at No. 1 with $47 million in 3,803 theaters, averaging $12,370 per theater; Paramount’s Barnyard, which opened in second place with $15.8 million in 3,311 theaters, averaging $4,778 per theater; and Buena Vista’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which dropped to third place in its fifth week with $15.8 million in 3,311 theaters, averaging $4,778 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Bourne Supremacy (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $70.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,660
• Per-theater average: $19,175
No. 2: The Simpsons Movie (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $25.6 million (-65%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,926 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $6,521
• Cume to date: $128.5 million
No. 3: Underdog (Walt Disney, PG)
• Gross: $12 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,013
• Per-theater average: $3,986
No. 4: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.5 million (-45%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,289 (-212)
• Per-theater average: $3,201
• Cume to date: $91.6 million
No. 5: Hairspray (New Line, PG)
• Gross: $15.5 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,115 (-6)
• Per-theater average: $2,994
• Cume to date: $78.9 million
No. 6: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $9.3 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,125 (-880)
• Per-theater average: $2,971
• Cume to date: $260.7 million
No. 7: No Reservations (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $6.5 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,425 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,709
• Cume to date: $24.1 million
No. 8: Transformers (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.9 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,419 (-930)
• Per-theater average: $2,460
• Cume to date: $296.3 million
No. 9: Hot Rod (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,607
• Per-theater average: $1,924
No. 10: Bratz (Lionsgate, PG)
• Gross: $4.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,509
• Per-theater average: $2,85
OTHER OPENINGS
El Cantante (Picturehouse, R)
• Gross: $3.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 542
• Per-theater average: $6,003
Becoming Jane (Miramax, PG)
• Gross: $1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 100
• Per-theater average: $10,000
The Ten (Thinkfilm, R)
• Gross: $115,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 25
• Per-theater average: $4,600
Blame It on Fidel (Koch Lorber, NR)
• Gross: $9,900
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1
• Per-theater average: $9,600
